Diagnosis and treatment complications of primary cardiac lymphoma in an immunocompetent 28-year old man: a case report

Abstract

Background Primary cardiac lymphomas (PCL) represent extremely rare cardiac tumors which are accompanied by poor prognosis, unless they are timely diagnosed and treated. Case presentation Herein we present a 28-year-old, immunocompetent man who presented to our hospital due to progressively worsening symptoms and signs of superior vena cava syndrome. Multi-modality imaging demonstrated a large intracardiac tumor, which was proven, by biopsy, to be a PCL. The patient received targeted chemotherapy which led to total remission of his disease, with no relapse over a 15-month follow-up period. Conclusions Although PCLs are rare, they should always be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of cardiac tumors. Timely diagnosis of PCLs and appropriate chemotherapy, alone or in combination with radiotherapy, seems to provide the best results.

The incidence and survival outcomes of patients with primary cardiac lymphoma: A SEER‐based analysis

“…However, Carras et al also reported that reducing the dose of chemotherapy in patients with DLBCL in an attempt to avoid the heart damage caused by chemotherapeutic drugs inevitably leads to a higher early relapse rate. Although it has certain toxic and side effects on the heart, rituximab, which has a good killing effect on B cells, has been used in many cases as the basis for chemotherapy for cardiac DLBCL 16‐18 . Intensive therapies such as Berlin‐Frankfurt‐Munster (BFM), anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL 99), and auto‐bone marrow transplantation (auto‐BMT) were recommended by Li et al as first‐line treatments for patients with more extensive cardiac involvement, including biatrial and biventricular involvement 19 .…”

“…Although it has certain toxic and side effects on the heart, rituximab, which has a good killing effect on B cells, has been used in many cases as the basis for chemotherapy for cardiac DLBCL. [16][17][18] Intensive therapies such as Berlin- Surgery is not considered a first-line treatment for PCL. However, in cases where there is concern that the tumor size will cause hemodynamic instability, including embolism and valvular obstruction, early surgery debulking should be considered as a method to improve hemodynamics and to prevent sudden death.…”

Diagnosis and treatment of Primary Cardiac Lymphoma: A Case Report

“…The main treatment of PCL is the combination of surgery and chemotherapy [9]. It is almost impossible to remove the tumor by single surgery, the purpose of surgery is to alleviate clinical symptoms, remove mechanical obstruction when hemodynamics is disturbed, and provide basis for chemotherapy.…”

Primary cardiac lymphoma in HIV infected patients: A clinicopathological report of two cases

“…Cardiac lymphoma (CL) comprises approximately 1–2% of all cardiac tumour [ 3 , 10 ] and 0.5% of extra-nodal lymphomas [ 3 , 4 ]. They are aggressive and fatal tumours which usually manifest after the fifth decade of life and show slight male predominance [ 4 , 10 ].…”

“…Cardiac lymphomas are rare with associated poor clinical outcomes [ 2 , 3 ]. Therefore, it is imperative that they are diagnosed early to allow accurate management [ [2] , [3] , [4] ]. Herein, we present two cases diagnosed with cardiac lymphoma who presented with signs and symptoms of obstruction.…”